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Mark J Schultis

The Dawn Cluster I: Detriment

Synopsis

Terik Donato has lost his place in the universe. Casting aside a promising career, years spent in fleeting pursuit of truth has left him with nothing. But an ill-timed visit to the Sacramento, a space vessel well past her prime, could change everything for the former Mako-6 agent.
Terik's arrival vexes many on board, including Captain Garett Soness, but when both a terrorist attack and a bizarre anomaly catch the skeleton crew off guard, all onboard must band together. Soon the surviving crew members of the Sacramento find themselves halfway across the galaxy, stranded on a planet where humans are not as alien as the crew would think. Their stay may be brief, as a brutal species seeks to enslave all in its path and kill all that resist. Terik Donato and Garett Soness will find themselves tested in the face of death, forced to become either the men they were meant to be, or the monsters they always feared they were.
Survival takes its toll in this first volume of The Dawn Cluster.

Author Biography

Community leader. Particle physicist. International Assassin. Mark J Schultis is none of these. He wrote his first story in elementary school and has spent a lifetime keeping that childhood passion of storytelling alive, studying theatre and filmmaking before eventually earning his writing degree from the University of Pittsburgh. A perpetual night owl and pizza connoisseur, Mark was born and raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania where he lives with his wife and their two children.

Author Insight

Enter Terik Donato

After the prologue, it was vital for me to show the difference seven years had on Terik. Gone now was the wit and the determination. Now he was a shell, burnt out and defeated. The mystery of what brought him to this point became the very driving force for the entire series. Although passive, it still set everything in motion. As you read on, you'll find it effects almost every major character...

Book Excerpt

The Dawn Cluster I: Detriment

EARTH

THE LIGHTS WERE OFF and the environment controls on default. Unclean dishes and glasses circled the sink, half full bags of snacks were littered about and piles of clothes collected in stacks all around the apartment. Yet none of this bothered Terik Donato, who sat unkempt staring across the room at his sidearm. How long he’d been staring at it didn’t concern him, nor how stained he’d allowed his clothes to get. The last few years of his life had been nothing but a series of failed leads and near misses that were once fueled by revenge, then obsession, and now had left him spent and defeated – so time was something he reasoned he had plenty of.

When the door chimed at first, Terik didn’t budge. Nor did he move the second and third times. He had grown accustomed to blocking out pretty much everything. But when the chiming didn’t end, Terik realized he had a visitor. His dad gone, his mother in witness protection, Terik was at a loss for who it could be – he had burned the last of his bridges months ago. But when the door slid open and he saw Keldus Morgan, the acting commissioner of Mako-6 standing there with another agent, it all made sense.

“You haven’t been responding to your comms, Agent Donato. I was worried.”

“My decision hasn’t changed, Commissioner. I’m not coming back.”

Morgan stepped past Terik into the apartment. “And we said you’re never out. Besides, I have a feeling this assignment co-aligns with your own agenda.”

Agenda? Terik thought. When did justice become an ‘agenda?’

“Do you have a moment for Agent Manning and myself?”

“If you’re trying to get support for Damocles again, you can kiss my ass.”

“Not today, but I promise you, you’ll want to hear what I have to say.”

Terik backed up as Agent Manning passed through the doorway, then Terik shut the door and folded his arms. “Release my mother and I’ll listen.”

“Obstruction of justice is quite serious, Agent Donato.” Keldus said as he took notice of Terik’s sidearm. “Pity if Mrs. Donato’s only boy was to face the same charges as herself.”

Terik felt his blood boiling, restraining himself from taking a swing at his old boss.

“Besides, her current residence is nothing short of lavish, to be honest. The house arrest is to ensure she does not befall the same fate as your father.”

After all these years, I doubt mom is on anyone’s list... but Morgan has always known more than he lets on. Hell, it’s his job.

But that doesn’t give him the right to stretch the law...

Terik also remembered that Morgan rarely left his base, so if he had tracked Terik down and was offering a chance to pick up where he left off, then letting him talk couldn’t hurt. Not like I have anything else going on.